Flying-machine.



J. P. HOLLAND. FLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2. 1907.

1,050,654. Patented Jan. 14,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

13%;; Gra -m1. XW/ XW J. P. HOLLAND. FLYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILEDDEC. 2, 1907.

1,050,654, Patented Jan. 14, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 2. F 19 '3- new and useful Improvements in Flying.

. rect air reaction under the wings or equivalent devices employed forpro UNITED STATES, 7

JOHN P. I IOLLAND, or nns'r emmam J nnsnv;

FLYING-MACHTNE,

To all whom it may-concern; p

Be it known that 1, JOHN HOLLAND; a citizen of the'United States,residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey,have invented certain Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to devices designed to enable the aeronaut toutilize that natural ,force, air rarefaction, defective air pressure, orpartial vacuum which is employed in nature by all flying animals duringsteady flight through the air as a chief sourceof support for theirweight. It is true that di- 1s em-' ployed while the animals 'areuisingand alighting, butonly a small proportion of their support is derivedtherefrom during horizontal flight. According to my inven- .tion thesedevices are designed to produce and maintain rarefaction of air,defective pressure or partial vacuum over, or infront of the supportingand propelling surfaces of the flying machines; viz. over theaeroplanes, vibrating or revolving wings or propeller blades, and infront of the propelleir l1 sion. These devices are also employ toutilize for liftin or for lifting. and propelling force, t ecompensation! positive pressure produced underv orback of suchsurfacesr-by'the reduction oft-he air pressure produced over or in,front of them.

An important feature of the present invention relates to the formation,in vertical.

. or propeller-shaped devices. The un transverse section, of the wings,aeroplanes,

faces of air stream passing backward, at each see-1 tion of the wi orequivalent device during horizontal flight, 01 but slightly incliningupward toward their anterior edges about sufficiently to compensate forthe. light upward bendingof these surfaces when they are subjected topressure. be th In order that my invention may better" understood, I'have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is asection taken transversely and vertically "through a wingonl-ikesuetaining member of a flying machine roe vided with my improvements;Fig. 2' 1s. a,

sectional .viewsimilar to Fig. 1, but showing a modified form of thesustaining means; Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken verticallySpecification of Letters Patent.

through two superposed planes with 'my improvements and constituting a vPatented Jan 1 4,1 913... Application filcd December 2,1907. SerialNo.'404,698.'

provided.

modified form of the improved sustaining It means; liig. 4 is a fraentary detail" view which'wlll be hereina er referred'to, and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken through a. modified form of theapparatus .wherein revolving propellers are employed as a susttainingfmeans.

eferring' first toFig. 1, the undersurface of the wing is shown asformed from .a sheet 1 of varnished fabric which is extended beneath aframe-worker structure comprising a series of transverse bars 2, 2,

spaced apart from-each other and attached at points adjacent to theirforward ends, to a; w ng arm 3. fllhe point of attachment of these bars2 tothe wing arm will be by preference about one-sixth of the w-ingswidth to the rear of its anterior edge; and they should not extend anyfarther to the rear than fivesixths-of the width of the wing. ends ofthe transverse bars 2 are connected by a wire 4; passing across theseries from the inner to the outer vtransverse bar, and

posterior edge of the sail or fabric from rising much'above thehorizontal when the wing beats downward; 5 represents another wireextended acrossjhe series of The rear said Wire is to act as a stop toprevent the bars 2, 2 at their forward ends and tothis forward wire5-there are attached the anterior ends of eight bamboo extension strips 6,fas ened transversely to the sail along the ,whole length of saidstripsone or twofsuch strips; =6 lying between each two transverse bars 2, 2.Immediately under each transverse-bar at the point where it is fastened,to; the w ng arm there is fastened another w re extending from the innerend of the wing to its tip. This wire 7 is set-under the sail or fabric1 and its transverse strips-6 in order to; prevent the sail' fromhanging too low when the'wing is rising at the beginning of flight. kWiththis' arrangement properly set up the posterior edge of the winwould. v drop downward 3(1- r0 40 degrees as t e wing tip is elevated atthe beginning-of flight. When the wing beats downward the wingsundersurface rises until the transverse strips fastenedover itarestopped by the "wire 4 extending between/the posterior ends oi the.transverse bars 2, fastened to the wing farm;

'3. When; speed forward is attained, or when the machine starts against"a head wind, the wing sails posterior edge does not iio - the sail maybe replaced by vsheet aluminum as shown at 8 in Fig. 2.

drop downward because the defective pressure formed.above it holds 1tagainst the wiret, connecting the posterior ends of the transverse bars2, 2. When the wing beats downward during flight there will be a muchgreater upward force exerted against the part of the wing sail 1 to therear of the wing arm 3' than against the part forward of the arm becausethe after part is much wider. The posterior edge of the sail willtherefore rise, and its anterior edge will descend thus forming ahelical surface suitable for propulsion during the wings descent. Thewing arm should not be too rigid to yield to torsional force during thewings descent. ward the wing tips, vertical speed at the tips, the wingsail during the down beat will form a true helical surface.

If desired the sheet of fabric 1 forming a sail made from As shown inFigs. 1 and 2, the forward part 9 of the upper surface, of the plane orpropeller blade when aluminum or other metal is employed is formed bybending the forward continuation of the undersurface, 8, or of anaddition thereto of some suitable material, over and backward at theanterior edge of the said undersurface so as to form an upper, forward,curved section of the wing or plane as in the wing of a vulture or. analbatross. The under part of the curved surface 9 should be lapped overthe undersurface of the wing or plane, as indicated at 10, if it be nota continuation of the said undersurface in order to prevent a leak ofair upward that would reduce the intensity of the defective pressureover the plane or wing and thus reduce its efliciency. The thickness ofthe wing or plane through the point of greatest convexity of the uppersurface 9 should be from one-fifth to one-sew enth of the width of thewings or planes depending on the horizontal speed desired. The thiclmessshould be reduced to about one-tenth 'of the width of the lower plane inwings toward their tips. The width of the convexed upper surface 9 ofthe wings or planes shouldbe about one-fourth to onesixth of the widthof theupper surface. An important aid to the production ofair-rarefaction over the wing or plane is afforded by the cavity'll overthe lower surface of the wing or plane extending backward from the rearedge of the upper convexed surface 9 to v the posterior edge of the wingor plane.

The width of the wing planes, or aeroplanes should be determined by, theproposed horizontal speed of the machine. It is observable that thewings ofthe soarers seldom reach 10 inches in width even in a full grownvulture, or albatross, when the soaring speed is in the neighborhood of30 miles Because this force is greater toowing to the greater per hour.They are more commonly only 7 t to 8 inches wide even in large vultures.

For revolving wings, that is, wings arranged around a hub and shaft likean ordinary screw propeller, itis considered preferable to form them.not of a fabric but either of thin spruce wood or of aluminum plates.Because the motion of these wings or blades will be always circular andnot vibrating, there'is no necessity for a hinge at the sails forwardedge or for stops to prevent it from rising; on the contrary, it must beheld steadily on a plane transverse to the wheels axis, with staysconnecting its under surface to the axis of the wheel.

The pitch of the blades of propellers to be carried on vertical shaftsfor the purpose of elevating the machine in the air must be very smallin order that the total thickness of the air stream intercepted by eachblade may be intercepted by the blades anterior 'edge near its lowersurface, the main body of the stream being diverted over the upperconvexed edge in order to assist in increasing the intensity of the airrarefaction over the blades. The pitch of the lower surface should be,at its center of effort, not greater than about one degree ofinclination to the plane transverse to the axis of rotation.

In Fig. 5, I have shown a form of the apparatus wherein rotatory fans orpropellers 12 and 14 are employed in lieu of vibrating wings orpropellers, said fans 12 and l l'being mounted to turn upon the samevertical axis, and being arranged one above the other and beingreversely driven from a vertical shaft 15, actuated from a motor 16,which may be of the internal combustion type. Cr nks' 17 are alsoprovided so that the shaft 5 may be driven manually when desired. Wherethis construction is employed, it is evident that the operation of thefans or propellers 12 and 14 gives rise to a gyroscopic action whichrenders it imprac ticable to incline the axis of rotation of said fansor propellers in such a way as to permit of utilizing said propellers asa means of propulsion in lateral directions through the air. They cannotbe inclined on account of the gyr'oscopic action. It is, therefore,necessary to employ for propulsion a screw propeller 18 having ahorizontal axis, to be operated by the motive power that operates toelevate the machine, or by an auxiliary power. The propeller 18 is alsodriven from the motor 16, or cranks 17 at will, and suitable clutchesand speed controlling means are provided to permit propellers 12 and 14and 18 to be simultaneously driven from the motor or cranks at anydesired relative speeds or to permit the propeller 18 to be driven fromone of said actuating mechanisms while the sustaining means are drivenfrom the other mechanism. The direction of motion will be controlled byan ordinary rudder 19 and control in the ver-" tical direction will beexerted, forconsiderable elevations or depressions by controlling thespeed of the elevating or Sustaining means. This gyroscopic action ofthe fans or screws 12 and 14: andtheir axes, set vertically, in order tocause elevation of the machine, is not without its advantages be-. causeit virtually eliminates the difiiculty of attaining stabilitywit-h aheavier than air machine", as well as the problem of balancing. It willbe possible for people to move in this machine without causinginconvenience in the matter of equilibrium and ba1-- ancing. It willalsorender the question of the stowage of freight, or passengers, andthe loss of trim from fuel consumption, matters of slight importance.The fan or propeller 18 may also be employed for cooling the motor 16when desired.

It will be clearly apparent that the conditions that determine the wingswidth in nature are identical with those that are required to produceand maintain air rarefaction over those surfaces. A study of thetransverse vertical sect-ion of a birds wing when it is extended inflight will ren der it clear that air rarefaction must exist, duringflight, over the greater part of its upper surface when a certain speedis attained. The wing in this case moves approximately edgewise throughthe air, at good speed, and the air stream may either impinge on theundersurface or move parallel with it. The intercepted air stream isdividedby the anterior edge of the wing or plane; the body of the streamrepresented by the greater part of the wings thickness at eachtransverse section of the wing, or plane, being deflected upward and.over the wings curved, forward, upper section, the extreme forward edgeof which is nearly on the same plane as the undersurface of the wing.The air thrown upward by the wings curved edge cannot recurve instantlyand come into close contact with the upper sur-' face on account of itsinertia. The air pres- 'sure therefore drops below atmosphere betweenthe passing current of air and the wings upper surface; the spacebetween them being probably filled -by eddying currents at a pressurebelow that existing in the free air depending on the relative speeds ofthe air current and the wing and on the degree of their inclination toeach other.

How very small may be the proportion or degree of defective pressureover the wings required for support in the case of a soaring albatrossmay be easily ascertained. The birds weight, 20 pounds may be consideredas being supported solely by the positive compensating pressure producedby the air rarefaction produced over the supporting surfaces. The birdsweight 20 pounds is supported by approximately 800 'square square inchdeveloped by the corresponding air rarefaction produced over the uppersurfaces carries the birds entire weight.

My invention also relates to devices for maintainirig unimpaired the airrarefaction, defective pressure, or partial vacuum over, or in front ofthe surfaces where it is desired that it may exist. For example in theinches and-tail surface-i 2Qrdividedtf by $00 equalsone-fortieth-;"that*theone 1 fortleth of one pound positive pressure forcase of superposed aeroplanes as shown in ployed to hold the planes2land. 22 apart and -to connect them together. Said posts. generallyextend in an approximately vertical or but slightly inclined direction,from Fig. 3, light posts or struts 20, 20 are emthe. upper plane 21, orclose thereto, to the lowerplane 22 or in its near neighborhood. Nowthis slightly inclined post inmoving sidewise through the air causestheair to flow in stream lines from front to rear the middle line of thepost 20 being compressed and the air aft of the post being. rarefiedowing to the friction ofthe passing stream of air on each side of thepost against the dead air in the approximately triangular space formedby the two passing air streams on either side, and by the post as itsbase. When the. aeroplanes are in action the air passing --under the:upper. plane 21 is generally under compression while the air over thelower plane 22 is rarefied.- The nearly vertical posts will, therefore,have their upper ends in or in the near neighborhood of air that iscompressed, while the lower ends o f the same posts end in placeswherethe air is-rare-fied. These opposite conditions at opposite ends of theposts cause an air stream to flow downward in front and rear of theposts from the ends around which the air is compressed to the endsaround which defective pressure or air'rarefaction exists. Under suchconditions a stream of air flows downward in such volume as to seriouslyreduce the intensity of'the partial vacuum or air rarefaction existingover the lower plane thus reducing its supporting efficiency. When thereare several such posts connecting the upper and "lower planes theintensity of theair rarefaction existing over varound it, the airimmediately .in front of the lower planes is much reduced and thelifting efliciencyv of the lower plane is corrgspondingly neutrahzed'Stays, braces, struts or posts endlng on any surface on which it isdesired to produce air rarefaction are similarly liable to mar theefliciency of said surfaces unless they be provided with a device toprevent the flow of air toward the surface on which it is desired toproduce air rarefaction, partial vacuum or defective pressure. Thisdevice consists of a plate or diaphragm 23 of some suitable material andof suflicient area fixed transversely to the post strut brace or stayhaving a length in the direction of motion of the machine of about tentimes the fore-and-aft diameter of the obstruct-ion and a width of aboutone half its length. This deflecting plate or diaphragm should be fixedabove the surface which it is designed to render more eflicient in theplane of the passing air stream, at a distance of one third toone-fourth of the width of said Surface. Similar protection byaneans ,ofplates or diaphragms must be provided between surfaces over, or in frontof which it is desired to produce air rarefaction in order to prevent aninduced flow of dead air into the spaces over said surfaces and thus aidin producing and maintaining air rarefaction over, or in front of thesesurfaces.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. An apparatus of the character described having asustaining device provided with a rigid portion, the forward edge ofwhich has an upwardly and a rearwardly inclined portion adapted todeflect the air passing above it out of contact with said rigid portion,a wing arm interposed between the rigid portion and the rearwardlyinclined portion and means for securing said rearwardly inclined portionto the wing arm.

2. An apparatus of the character described having a sustaining deviceprovided with a rigid portion the forward edge oi. which has an upwardlyand a rearwardly iuclined portion adapted to deflect the air passingabove it out of contact with said rigid portion, a wing arm interposedbctween the rigid portion and the rearwardly inclined portion andextended transversely thereof and means for securing said rear wardlyinclined port-ion to the wing arm.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 22nd day ofNovember 1907 in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' JOHN P. HOLLAND.

Witnesses:

J. D. CAPLINGER, ALAN F. CONNELL.

